“A report released last week shows that students enrolled at K12 Inc., an online school company linked to a nonprofit group in Cabarrus County, are falling behind in reading and math scores compared with students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools.

The National Education Policy Center presented its findings Thursday at a meeting of the American Association of School Administrators in Washington. The center, which is based at the University of Colorado, conducts research on educational policies.

Gary Miron, an NEPC fellow, said in a statement that K12’s online schools are not operating effectively.

‘Our findings are clear,’ Miron said. ‘Children who enroll in a K12 Inc. cyberschool, who receive full-time instruction in front of a computer instead of in a classroom with a live teacher and other students, are more likely to fall behind in reading and math.

‘These children are also more likely to move between schools or leave school altogether — and the cyberschool is less likely to meet federal education standards.'”

All in all, it sounds like confirmation that the current situation in North Carolina (in which a Wake County judge has upheld a Board of Education decision to go slow in approving K12’s application) is for the best.